When we bought our second home it was a bit out of date. There was a 1970s look to the kitchen with a hideous bright yellow/orange wallpaper and – get this — brown carpet on the floor.
There is nothing more inviting for disaster than carpet on the kitchen floor, so the carpet had to go. Problem: I had no experience doing a kitchen remodel, removing carpet, or laying a new floor. I also had limited funds, so there was no question it would be a Do It Yourself project. And, since money was an issue, it had to be a project that didn’t fail.
I managed to complete this entire project in five – not so easy – steps. Here they are:
First step: Measurements – lots of them. Using a tape measure, I measured every angle of the kitchen and carefully drew it out on a paper diagram mockup. I took measurements that quite possibly wouldn’t matter, but I took them anyway. We had two appliances that would have to be removed to lay the new floor, so I measured the depth behind them as well.
Second step: With my diagram in hand, I was off to Lowe’s Home Improvement Store to choose a new vinyl floor. Their staff helped me buy the correct amount of flooring and walked me through the easiest ways to lay the floor. They helped me pick the bucket of adhesive glue and the tools to apply it. They were even kind enough to help this amateur learn how to apply the flooring without air bubbles stuck underneath.
Third step: Here’s where the fun began. At the advice of the Lowe’s rep, I unrolled the vinyl flooring on the front lawn. The sun helped it loose the curl from being rolled up, which makes it a lot easier to trim and apply on the floor. I then took a pencil and measuring tape to make my measurements for cuts that would be needed around the cabinets. It is important to make sure your measurements are precise. You want to measure twice and cut once.
Fourth Step: I removed the stove and refrigerator from the room and measured again. I needed this to work the first time and, as frustrated as I was by this point, I was determined that this is a project I could do.
Fifth Step: I trimmed the vinyl flooring outside and rolled it up to carry inside. I had a supply of very sharp carpet cutters, which worked perfectly. Take your time with sharp tools. They cut through vinyl like melted butter and you can quickly cut too far. There were a few small cuts that were needed once I had it laid in place, but basically it fit fairly well. The adhesive needs to be liberally applied to both the back of the vinyl and to the floor itself. That was probably overkill for me, but I wanted to make sure the floor would not bubble.
The areas under the kitchen cabinets were a little rough, but those were covered by a plastic kick-board that we placed after the floor was finished. Over all, the project looked pretty good after I was finished. There was once noticeable area where I cut too wide, but that was behind the refrigerator and not noticeable at all.
Changing from a brown carpet to an off-white vinyl flooring completely brightened the room making the kitchen appear considerably larger then it was. We added a center island cutting board stand and it was a whole new look.